West Africa embraces the SmartLine Grader

Modern processors

Four West African poultry processors have chosen to equip their plants with a new SmartLine Grader: Natnudo Foods in Nigeria (3,000 bph / 50 bpm), Sayed Farms in Nigeria (2,000 bph / 33 bpm), Agni Foani in Ivory Coast (2,000 bph / 33bpm) and Ojemai Farms in Nigeria (1,000bph / 17bpm). These companies have chosen slightly different grading options, varying from 8 to 12 weight categories. These processors all have in common a modern, progressive view on the future of poultry processing in their region.

Whole broilers can be graded using an overhead grader. But combined with water chilling with capacities of up to 3,000 bph (50 bpm), investing in a SmartLine Grader is a much more cost-effective way to grade whole broilers.

Flexible

The Marel SmartLine Grader can be configured to suit the needs and requirements of any processor. The grader can be set with all options activated or it can be installed as a basic machine with only elementary functions. Depending on each individual situation, all alternatives are open when choosing the flexible SmartLine Grader. This makes for an extremely competitive solution. Typically, the Marel SmartLine Grader is used to grade fillets or wings in an end-of-line situation. The West African market, however, is asking for whole frozen chickens. Poultry processors are therefore much more interested in grading solutions for whole broilers.

Grading whole broilers in West Africa

That’s why in the West African market the SmartLine Grader has turned out to be the perfect solution for weighing whole broilers directly after the spin water chiller. All four of the processors mentioned below are using the Marel SmartLine Grader in this way – although of course it can still be used for grading portions as well. As the African poultry industry is still developing, poultry processors are facing a wide variety of broilers coming from all kinds of breeding farms. Sizes and weights differ considerably, so the processing plants have to cope with these variations. Marel solutions certainly help master this process.

Challenging circumstances

Marel graders are renowned for their robust, solid construction. The average lifetime of our graders is 15 to 20 years. So it’s no coincidence that four West African companies, independently of each other, opted for SmartLine Graders. They all have to deal with challenging circumstances such as extreme outside temperatures. The hygiene features of the Marel SmartLine Grader are also essential in an African context. Its unique open frame design and minimal horizontal surfaces ensure maximum hygiene during high-pressure wash-down cleaning. The open frame design also enables complete serviceability access.

Modular design

The SmartLine Grader offers a highly accurate and fast grading process. Its completely modular design allows for a flexible configuration to meet any grading needs. The grader has an IP69K rating, the highest degree of protection, suited for use high pressure, high temperature wash down applications. The operator gets a complete overview of the production process. The comprehensive, real-time reporting function generates reports on weight distribution, average weights, a packing overview and packing list, as well as the standard overview and lists.